Chicago Bears prized rookie linebacker Roquan Smith continues to keep his team’s fans hanging in anticipation for his NFL debut. Smith, who recently just ended a holdout that lasted for 29 days and saw him miss 16 practice sessions, has been declared out for the Bears’ preseason finale this Thursday against the Buffalo Bills by head coach Matt Nagy.
With that update, the soonest Chicago can expect Smith on the field is on Sept. 9, when the Bears play the Green Bay Packers a visit for a road game at Lambeau Field.
It was initially expected that Smith would make his Bears debut during a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs last Saturday but experienced a hamstring issue that limited him in practice and forcing Chicago to sit him out of that contest.
Even with Smith dealing with a hamstring ailment and with zero snaps in the preseason, Nagy said there’s a “good chance” the rookie will play in the Green Bay game, per Larry Mayer of the Chicagobears.com.
“I think there's still a good chance there. [It's] day-by-day with him. Right now we've stacked two in a row for the positive, for the good. Let's just keep that thing going. If he's able to play and we feel good about it, trust me, we'll give him an opportunity to get in there.”
Together with Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith will form a powerful combo of inside linebackers for the Bears’ defense that ranked eighth last season in scoring defense, seventh against the pass, and 10th against the run.
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